Hi, I'm getting slightly disheartened by my minimal chances of getting into Oxford.
I have mostly As at GCSE (with an A in Mathematics and an A* in History) my only C grade was in Art. I got two As, a B and one B (pending for remark) at AS and have been predicted AAA (History, Government and Politics and Sociology) at A2. I have applied for PPE at Oxford. AAA is the course requirement and according to the prospectus useful (but not required) backgrounds are Maths or History.
The reason I think I'm unlikely to even get an interview is that 1. I did not get 10 A*s at GCSE and 2. I have not (yet) done AS Maths. I could do AS Maths and have been looking into it and practicing but I'd really rather not. That is not to say that I despise Maths, there are aspects of Maths that I really like such as game theory (particularly its relevance to economics and politics) and I can get my head round basic differentiation and derivatives but there's little evidence of that in my personal statement.
That said, I was very happy with how my personal statement turned out (I could share it privately if people would like to look at it to get an idea) but I'm worried that my 'average' GCSEs, especially with a lack of AS Maths, might make Oxford not bother looking at my PS and reject me out of hand because, while I meet the formal requirements, unofficial recommendations I have not met. I think that if I do get an interview I could increase my chances but less than half of PPE applicants do.
The only solution I can think of, if there is one, is to do well enough in the TSA admissions test to get considered for an interview. So I desperately need help with how to pass the TSA with a good mark. Do I yet have a chance or have I thrown away one of my choices biting off more than I can chew?
Any help is incredibly appreciated, thanks
-
J.SMART
- Follow
- 1 follower
- 2 badges
- Send a private message to J.SMART
- Thread Starter
Offline2ReputationRep:- Follow
- 1
- 19-10-2015 15:15
-
- Follow
- 2
- 19-10-2015 15:16
The answer is: apply and find out!
-
- Follow
- 3
- 19-10-2015 15:18
In all serious though I don't see why you can't make a good application. The A in GCSE Maths show a reasonable degree of competency in Mathematics for the Economics side of the subject. I read somewhere that this is required at the very least if you have not done Maths AS/A level. Just focus on smashing the TSA! Good luck!
-
J.SMART
- Follow
- 1 follower
- 2 badges
- Send a private message to J.SMART
- Thread Starter
Offline2ReputationRep:- Follow
- 4
- 21-10-2015 16:10
(Original post by MaxReid)
In all serious though I don't see why you can't make a good application. The A in GCSE Maths show a reasonable degree of competency in Mathematics for the Economics side of the subject. I read somewhere that this is required at the very least if you have not done Maths AS/A level. Just focus on smashing the TSA! Good luck!
- Getting into Oxbridge for Postgraduate Study
- The "Am I good enough for Investment Banking/Consultancy?" ...
- Oxford Medical Student - AMA
- Cambridge Medical Student - AMA
- The official UCL am I good enough / GCSE freak out thread
- The Big 'Can I Get Into Durham With These Grades' Thread
- Article: Medical school GCSE requirements
- Are my grades good enough for Oxford?
- The "Are my grades good enough for Maths..." Thread
- Rejected by Oxford despite IB 45, don't know what to think ...
-
University of Hertfordshire
-
Popular Music and Ancient History
University of Liverpool
-
Nursing Practice (Adult) (March Entry Shrewsbury)
Staffordshire University
-
University of Oxford
-
University of Oxford
-
University of Liverpool
-
Politics with Music Technology
University of Liverpool
-
German and Middle East Studies (year abroad)
University of St Andrews
-
Anglia Ruskin University
-
Swansea University
We have a brilliant team of more than 60 Support Team members looking after discussions on The Student Room, helping to make it a fun, safe and useful place to hang out.